Wilfredo Degláns
Instrument: Violin
With the RPO since: 1977
Hometown: New York City; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Pittsford, NY
Non-RPO activities and hobbies: Cooking, working out, RIT hockey games, going to baseball games
What music school did you attend, and who were your most inspirational teachers? The Juilliard School; my parents and Dorothy DeLay
Favorite books/movies: Biographies of great musicians / The Notebook, The Usual Suspects
What kinds of music do you enjoy listening to? Classical, salsa, opera
And if you had to pick just one, what’s your favorite piece? Anything by Mozart or Schubert
People would be surprised to know … I was being scouted by Major League Baseball. Also knew Roberto Clemente.
What do you most enjoy about living in the Rochester area? Everything is within a 20-minute drive, the seasons, the Finger Lakes.
What are your favorite restaurants in Rochester, and why? My house because I can cook better than most restaurants; but I like 2Vine.
The RPO is essential to the Rochester community because … it is an education that no public or private school can give.
What sports team(s) do you root for? Yankees, RIT Men’s Hockey
Favorite late-night snack: A good piece of cheese with a vodka martini
What is your favorite way to spend your day off? With my family if possible
What is your most memorable musical experience? Having lessons with Pablo Casals, and Henryk Szeryng, plus working under Casals, Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, James Levine, Zubin Mehta.
Biography
Wilfredo Degláns has been Associate Concertmaster of the RPO since 1977 and served as Acting Concertmaster from 2001-2005. In March 2005 he was appointed Concertmaster for the Miami Symphony. He has been a member of the St. Paul and English Chamber Orchestras as well as Louisville, Aspen, Festival Casals and Chautauqua Symphony. In 2002, he was appointed Artistic Director of Música de Camara in New York City. He studied with Dorothy DeLay and Ivan Galamian at The Juilliard School where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He maintains a busy private studio and has been on the faculties of Eastman and the Aspen Music School.
